This is the first module in the Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) Project Suite curriculum. Activities are self-directed by students or student teams using online videos and data from the SDO satellite to explore, research and build knowledge about...(View More) features of the Sun. Students build vocabulary, apply or demonstrate learning through real world connections, and creating resources to use in their investigations. Each activity comes with both a teacher and student guide with sequential instructions and embedded links to the needed videos and internet resources. Activity 1A: Structure of the Earth's Star takes students through the features and function of the Sun's structures using online videos, completing a "Sun Primer" data sheet using information from the videos, and creating a 3D origami model of the Sun. Students use a KWL chart to track what they have learned. Activity 1B: Observing the Sun has students capture real solar images from SDO data to find and record sunspots and track their movement across the surface of the Sun. Activity 1C has students create a pin-hole camera to use in calculating the actual diameter of the Sun, and then calculate scales to create a Earth-Sun scale model. Students reflect on their learning and results at the end of the module. An internet connection and access to computers are needed to complete this module. See related and supplementary resources for link to full curriculum. The appendix includes an alignment to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).(View Less)

This is the fourth and culminating module in the Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) Project Suite curriculum. Student teams use information and resources from the other three modules in the project suite to create a 3D interactive solar exhibit to...(View More) educate others about the Sun and how SDO informs scientists about the Sun's activity, structures and features, and Earth-Sun interactions. Students then self-evaluate their team's solar exhibit. Both a teacher and student guide are included, as well as tools for students to self-direct and track project process, and record reflections and information. A computer for student-teams and access to the internet are needed for this module. See related and supplementary resources for link to full curriculum. The appendix includes an alignment to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).(View Less)

This is a book about the importance of the Sun's energy as it relates to its impact on the Earth’s environment. Learners will read or listen to a story about a young boy, Joshua, who finds out that the Sun provides the Earth with energy in the...(View More) form of light and heat, which is necessary for all forms of life, for maintaining Earth's environment, and for allowing humans to produce their own forms of energy. Additionally, an extension activity is included, Searching for the Sun, where learners can conduct a hands-on experiment observing how plants grow towards sunlight in order to make conclusions about why the Sun’s energy is a necessary component for life. Reading and vocabulary activities are also included.(View Less)

This is a detailed lesson about space and how Earth fits in it. Learners will consider the essential question, "What is space?" Activities include small group miming, speaking, drawing, and/or writing about space and the evidence for ice in space....(View More) Included are detailed games and dialogue. Native stories are shared. This is lesson 9 of 12 in the unit, Exploring Ice in the Solar System.(View Less)

This is a lesson about the phenomenon of ice and about scientific inquiry. Learners will ask scientific questions about ice, will delve into the nature of science, embark upon scientific inquiry, and will practice scientific enterprise. Activities...(View More) include thinking and acting like scientists and keeping scientific journals. Also includes an activity called "Act Out the Science" - a whole group participatory activity in which students act out the parts of a story. An optional small group version is included in which students act out their own stories. This is the introductory lesson for Exploring Ice in the Solar System.(View Less)

Learners will create a three-dimensional model of Saturn and its rings. The model will show the particle nature and structure of the rings. Students also write about the model in this lesson. With the aid of a graphic organizer, students organize...(View More) their thoughts, then draft and write a paragraph to explain what they know about the ring system. You will need a 2 and 1/2 inch styrofoam ball and some vermiculite for each student. This is lesson 7 of 10 in the Mission to Saturn Educators Guide, Reading Writing Rings, for grades 1-2.(View Less)